LAHORE: Former South African player Jonty Rhodes has replaced Michael Slater in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season four’s commentary panel, said a press release issued by the PCB on Sunday.

According to PCB, Slater has pulled out of the 2019 league edition due to undisclosed personal reasons.

Jonty was one of the most popular cricketers in the 90s whose outstanding fielding abilities made him a household name in the cricketing world including Pakistan.

Sharing his feeling after being added to the commentary panel for PSL 2019, Rhodes said: "I have fond memories of my various tours to Pakistan, so you can imagine how thrilled I am to be heading out to UAE and Pakistan for PSL 2019 as part of a fantastic commentary team. Having played and coached there during my career, I know how much exciting talent the country holds and I look forward to giving my take on the competition and the players on show.”

Since retiring from international game, Rhodes has been involved with cricket in various capacities including commentary and broadcast.

Rhodes is keenly looking forward to being part of the PSL both in the UAE and Pakistan. He is likely to join PSL on 21 February during the Sharjah leg; he would stay on for the entire duration of the league from there including the matches in Pakistan.

Pakistan Super League (PSL) season four starts in Dubai on Thursday, 14 February with the opening ceremony followed by the first game between defending champions Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars.

The league of extraordinary ‘cricketing’ gentlemen is all set to make a thunderous appearance in the Cric-verse while everyone’s eyes are fixed on one of the year’s most power-packed, thrill-filled events – PSL Season 4.

The supercharged tournament is scheduled from February 14 to March 17, 2019 where the six titans i.e. the Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators, Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans will clash and use their invincible powers and heroics to take on the PSL arena and prove their mettle.

This galvanizing event spans across 32 days with 34 captivating matches arranged to take place in 5 venues located in both UAE and Pakistan.

However, the real deal is to witness the hi-octane performances of the PSL captains; the leaders and the driving force behind their respective squads. Each captain is lethal, indestructible, ferocious and fearless in his own right. Posing as a deadly weapon with his unique mortal powers, he will stop at nothing to destroy whatever comes his way.

Let’s look at each of these captains as Weapons of Mass Determination who will appear to be the ‘game-changers’ for the tournament – what are they capable of and how are they vying for a position in the fight of the fittest?

Mohammad Sami - Islamabad United

Born with a licence to attack, when this cricketing rarity dons his sophisticated cricket armor, he becomes a living lethal weapon – one of Cric-verse’s greatest fighting machines. Regarded as a bowling speedster for his quick yorkers and traditional swing and good pace, Sami has primed his super-human skills for waging his dexterous bowling offensive, maintaining his self-control and defending the better good!

Darren Sammy - Peshawar Zalmi

Sammy became the first cricketer to have emerged from St. Lucia and to play for the West Indies. He has been tagged as the big-hitting batsman who is capable of bowling medium pace with some decent movement making him perfectly suited to the shorter formats of the game.

When in form, Sammy is a force to reckon with. He embodies the perfect image of a superhero where his sole objective is to defend his squad from the perils of the opposition. With a heightened strength, agility and reflexes, Sammy is a brute force for his adversaries.

Sarfraz Ahmed - Quetta Gladiators

For his courageousness and stalwart cricketing acts, Sarfraz stands as the youngest Pakistani cricketer to have been awarded the coveted Sitara-i-Imtiaz and is also the current captain of the Pakistan cricket team in all three formats of the game.

With extensive training and an indestructible shield of blessings, Sarfraz has undeniably become one of Pakistan’s most respected cricketing warriors and PSL’s ultimate weapon; CAPTAIN PAKISTAN!

Imad Wasim - Karachi Kings

A Welsh-born Pakistani player, Imad initially wanted to become a doctor but ended up in the realm of cricket by offering to play for the Pakistan Under-19. Self-analyzing his dexterity in this field, he instantly took to cricket as his profession and has never looked back since.

As an adroit all-rounder, Imad remains ever-ready to confront the onslaught of his opposition through smashing hooks and astute cricketing skills. Beware! No matter what; Imad retains his full strength under all circumstances, wears a special helmet that can communicate telepathically with his strong instincts and even at a tender age, possesses advanced knowledge of the game!

Mohammad Hafeez - Lahore Qalandars

Hafeez always strives to give his team the best shot! Usually batting aggressively at the top order, however, his methodical maneuvers and technique have led him to switch defensive mode upon his ‘controlled’ will.

He can pose the ultimate threat to his nemesis by proving to be the mightiest hero of the PSL arena. His somewhat super-human strength, swiftness, endurance and quest for battle are at times far greater than those of his counterparts. Wielding a bat is reflective of Thor’s hammer that transforms Sarfraz as a thunderous master-blaster when the time calls.

Shoaib Malik - Multan Sultans

There is virtually no role in cricket that Shoaib has not filled. Predominantly, he is a batting all-rounder though he started off his career as an off-break bowler. What could have happened? Well, a massive dose of passion-for-cricket based radiation must have transformed this brilliant but warm at heart fellow, awakening the powerful, adrenaline-fed hero in his genes – the INCREDIBLE SHOAIB!

A hero of an incredible strength, this avenger masterfully fits into almost any role that he has been bestowed upon him. But don’t go on his soft, kind-hearted looks though! Because when the time comes, he is too dangerous to be controlled while he helps his team smash the unimaginable threats.

This PSL is definitely looking like it's going to be the best one so far, with at-least 8 games being played in Pak and the Squad compositions, should be exciting!

I just really really hope the youngsters get enough chances to play. That is after all the main advantage of these premier leagues, to help the raw talent who never get a chance to play international cricket to play alongside and against current foreign superstars in the hopes to uncover new talent. Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf and Hussain Talat were all discovered when they put up good performances in PSL which they would have hardly gotten to be recognized by just playing in Pak domestic cricket. This is why I really hope that, even though each team and captain is trying their best for their team to win, they should make sure that the new young guns get enough chances to play.

Multan Sultans eye glory with big guns
Franchise will be led by veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik

11 February, 2019

Multan Sultans are the newest team on the block in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as they will be featuring for only the second time in the competition.

The franchise has been in the news from the past six months but for all the wrong reasons and will go in the fourth season of the PSL with new team owners.

However, that seemingly did not affect their preparations for the mega event as their acquisitions in the drafting process made them a real powerhouse in the event, which has the ability to beat any team on their day.

The team will be led by veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik, who not only has the experience of winning T20 competitions during his time with Sialkot Stallions as a captain, but also has the experience of playing in all major T20 leagues in the world.

Strengths

Sultans went in the first season with specialists and it backfired completely as they only managed to win four out of 10 matches and faced an early exit.

However, this time around, the team which represents South Punjab have made important purchases in the drafting process.

In the batting department, the presence of experienced Malik alongside in-form Shan Masood will bring the calmness required at crucial moments, whereas the presence of explosive all-rounders in the shape of Shahid Afridi and Andre Russell will give Sultans the luxury of a good finish at the back end of the innings.

In the bowling department, the presence of experience in form of Mohammad Irfan and Junaid Khan will give the team more than enough in the pace-bowling options, whereas young Qais Ahmed can prove to be a deadly weapon alongside Afridi in the spin department to form more than potent spin-attack.
With such versatility, Sultans surely have a squad which can challenge any team and it won’t come as a surprise if they lift the title come March 17.

Weakness

Sultans’ one area of weakness will be their lack of depth in the squad, which could harm the team in the competition just like it did in the previous edition.

The franchise can be found wanting if their squad depth is tested in case of any injury to their star players in the playing eleven, such as Malik, Afridi, Russell or Junaid.
Therefore, the team management will have to make sure that their key players will get all the rest they need during the competition, so that they will stay fit and play an important role during the final stages of the tournament.
Player to watch out for

Andre Russell is the player to watch out for in the tournament for Multan Sultans. The West Indies international is a proven match-winner in the shortest format of the game and is coming after impressive performances in the recently concluded Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) where he scored 299 runs at an average of 33.22 and claimed 14 wickets as well.

Russell’s ability to change the game with his explosive batting lower down the order makes him a real asset for the franchise in the upcoming competition and Malik will be hoping that the 30-year-old will stay fit as he is the kind of player who can help the side in winning their first-ever PSL title.

Captaincy

Malik’s captaincy in the shortest format of the game is well-defined. The 38-year-old’s captaincy style is more of a reactive than proactive in nature as he has the knack of coming up with different field placing’s to unsettle the batsmen.

As far as his batting is concerned, Malik flourishes under the captaincy role and likes to lead from the front in the 20-over format.
In the previous edition, Malik scored 224 runs in eight innings at an average of 37.33, which was the highest by any batsman from the franchise, and also had three wickets to his name.

Ahead of the trophy unveiling ceremony, a joint press conference, involving captains from every team, was held.

Speaking on this occasion Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said: “We have come close to winning the title in the previous editions but hopefully we will go one step further and win the title this year.”

Skipper of Lahore Qalandars Mohammad Hafeez said: “We want to remove the tag of always being the last team on the points table by putting up a good show in the fourth edition of PSL.”

Captain of Karachi Kings Imad Wasim said: “I did not take part in the entire tournament last year due to injury but hopefully, under leadership of Wasim Akram, we will fulfil the dream of winning the title this year.”

Newly-appointed captain of defending champions Islamabad United, Mohammad Sami said: “It’s an honour for me to lead the franchise. I will try to guide the side to its second consecutive title.”

Skipper of Multan Sultans, Shoaib Malik said: “We started the previous tournament well but lack of consistency hampered our campaign. We will try not to repeat the same mistakes this year.”

Captain of Peshawar Zalmi Darren Sammy said: “Every team has a well-balanced squad, especially Lahore Qalandars, but we won’t go down without a fight.”

The fourth edition of PSL will begin on February 14, 2019 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the last eight matches of the tournament scheduled to take place in Pakistan — including the final in Karachi on March 17.

LAHORE: As the fourth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is about to get underway in the UAE with a bang on February 14, the brand value of this franchise Twenty20 Cricket League rests at US$230 million or Rs 32.258 billion, which thus means that it is 27.39 times smaller than the Indian Premier League (IPL) whose brand value has been calculated at US$6.3 billion by Messrs Duff & Phelps, the New York-based valuation corporate finance advisors.

It was the IPL that had actually helped the bug of T20 cricket franchises spread across the globe in 2008 by garnering mercurial success from the very outset, contributing Indian Rs11.5 billion or US$182 million to the GDP of the Indian economy in 2015 alone—hence compelling many other cricketing boards across the globe to model their franchise-based T20 leagues on the pattern of what India had done to make IPL the most-attended cricket league in the world and the Sixth by average attendance among all international sports leagues in 2014.

Coming to the PSL, its brand value was calculated at the end of the PSL Third Edition by the “Lagardere Sports,” a renowned Paris-based media conglomerate, and by the New York-based “Nielsen Sports,”a premier global provider of analytics, data and insights within the sports industry.

The figure of US$230 million, as being the brand value of PSL, was also announced on July 3, 2018 by the-then Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief, Najam Sethi, at Lahore—visibly enthralled over the fact that PSL and its official sponsors had succeeded in generating 38 per cent higher value in 2018 than the previous season.

However, a renowned American media house “Bloomberg” had stated that the market value of PSL in 2017 was up to US$300 million or Rs 42 billion. The “Bloomberg” had quoted Arif Habib, an eminent stock broker at the Karachi Stock Exchange in this context.

It is imperative to note that the three-year PSL broadcasting rights have already been sold in December 2018 on a bid of US$36 million, which is 358 per cent greater amount than before. On July 17, 2018, the PCB Board of Governors, led by Najam Sethi, had approved the annual 2018-19 budget of this national Cricketing body.

PCB had generated total income target of Rs 6.4 billion against expenditures of Rs 5.7 billion (without PSL). The budgeted income for 2018-19 was thus 133 per cent more than previous year's income of Rs 2.79 billion.

Founded in Lahore on September 9, 2015 with five teams, the PSL had yielded a profit of US$2.6 million during its inaugural season. The incumbent PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani should thus have a smooth sailing as the Cricketing body under his control is slowly but surely recovering after having lost millions of dollars in revenues since March 3, 2009, when international Cricket had bid adieu to the Pakistani stadiums following a terrorist attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore.

These players have what it takes to shine brighter than the sun and make the most of this tournament.

The best thing about the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is that the franchise remains active throughout the year. They work all year scoping for talent that is in abundance in our country. Case in point: Lahore Qalandars run an intense players’ development program. It was due to their efforts that fast bowler Salman Irshad was discovered from Azad Kashmir and inducted to play in the third season of PSL.

Pakistan’s national team has so far scored six to seven players from the first three seasons of PSL, including Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi, while many players are on the fringe of breaking into the national side. I hope that this trend continues and we welcome new talent into our national side.

Many young players will get the opportunity to showcase their talent on the biggest stage of Pakistan’s domestic circle: PSL4. In my view, the following players have what it takes to shine brighter than the sun and make the most of this tournament.

1. Haris Rauf

Rauf is also one of the players who was unearthed by Lahore Qalanadars through their players’ development program and will be representing them this season. Under the guidance of Aqib Javed, Rauf has transformed from a tape ball bowler to an effective hard bowler in a short span of time. Global cricketing fraternity first laid their eyes on him at the Abu Dhabi T20 trophy held a few months ago. The way he bowled to Morne Morkel, Heino Kuhn and Chris Morris, was exhilarating to watch.

Many cricket analysts have commented that his Yorkers are better than many bowlers’ at the domestic level. Rauf was also sent to Australia by his franchise where he got a chance to bowl to Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of their Test match against Australia and received high praises from them.

Qalandars did a wonderful job with his transformation and now it is time for him to help his team win the tournament and through his good performance, barge in the national team for the upcoming World Cup.

2. Saad Ali

Ali has been present in the Pakistan cricket world for the last seven years. He was part of Pakistan’s Under-19 team for the 2012 World Cup. Through his consistent performance at first class level, Ali established his credentials and was rewarded with his selection in Pakistan’s Test team for the tours of England and Ireland and also for the home series in UAE played against Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, Ali was not included in the playing line-up and after warming the bench, he was unceremoniously dropped from the Test squad for the tour of South Africa.

Saad Ali’s 36 led Pakistan Under-19 to victory.

He was initially ignored by the franchises but when PCB allowed an additional player to be picked for PSL, Qalandars selected him. He has a reasonable record in the shorter format of the game. At the National T20 in December, he scored 183 runs with a hefty average of 91.50. Last season, Ali was part of Quetta Gladiators but was unable to make his PSL debut. This time, he has the opportunity to interact with the legendary AB de Villiers and I hope he takes advantage of his presence and learns from him to overcome the deficiencies present in his game.

3. Mohammad Hasnain

One person’s loss is another person’s gain. This is the story of two young fastbowlers, Nasim Shah and Hasnain.

Sixteen-year-old Shah was touted as another pace sensation of Pakistan. A native of lower Dir, Shah is capable of giving the batsman a really hard time due to his bowling ability. Unfortunately, he suffered a back injury and was replaced in the Gladiators’ squad by Hasnain, a teenager from Hyderabad who is capable of bowling at 140kph.

According to the Gladiators’ management, Hasnain is capable of bowling fast and has all the ingredients to represent the national team.

Hasnain was part of Islamabad United in PSL3 and was regarded by Waqar Younis as an upcoming superstar. However, unfortunately due to an injury, Hasnain was unable to play in PSL3. Hopefully, the injury gods steer clear of him this season so he can push his career to new heights.

Another teenager expected to mesmerise onlookers with his craft is Khan. The 19-year-old left-arm spinner was ignored in the 2018 PSL draft but fortunately, Karachi Kings picked him in the squad in the replacement draft as their 21st player.

Pakistan was part of the Pakistan U-19 team that participated in the Emerging Asia Cup played in Sri Lanka. He made a perfect first class debut this season representing Sui Southern Gas. Khan picked seven wickets and played a key role in his team’s victory. He is fortunate to be performing under the eyes of national Coach Mickey Arthur and a few good performances in the tournament can land him a spot in the national team.
5. Nasir Nawaz

The 20-year-old batsman from South Waziristan is part of United’s squad for PSL4. He is a powerful hitter and United is intending to use him as an opener to take advantage of the power play overs.

Nawaz has represented Pakistan at U-19 level. During 2016 Asia Cup, Nawaz scored match-winning 45 runs against Bangladesh. In the 2018 T20 Cup, Nawaz playing for Rawalpindi only scored a meagre 110 runs in six matches but whatever time he spent on the pitch, he impressed everyone with his talent.

PSL4 will provide Nawaz with an opportunity to interact with many experienced national and international players. He will share the dugout with Dean Jones who in previous seasons proved to be an ideal mentor for youngsters. I hope Nawaz can take full advantage of his opportunity and raise his game for the occasion.

6. Nabi Gul

Gul is another exciting batsman expected to make his debut in PSL4. He failed to impress at the National T20 Cup in December, however, his ability to swing the willow was noticed as he scored his run with an impressive strike rate of 145.28.

Gul made an impressive century in his first class debut. Playing for Peshawar against Islamabad, Gul scored a blistering 138 in only 166 balls to help his team overhaul the stiff target of 374 runs. This proves that he definitely has talent.

He was on Peshawar Zalmi radar after giving a superb performance in the Zalmi Azadi Cup. Gul is fortunate that he will have Younus Khan as a mentor and Misbah Ul Haq as a player during his stint with Zalmi. If Gul wants a career as a professional cricketer, he should make an all-out effort to regularly interact and learn from the two stalwarts of Pakistan cricket.

Moreover, since Pakistan cricket is facing a dearth of skilled batsmen, I hope Gul performs well and is promoted to the next level.

A lot of talent is wasted in our country due to lack of media coverage of domestic matches. It is unfortunate that on many occasions, selectors also don’t visit the stadiums to watch domestic cricket matches and only rely on score sheets to know about players’ abilities. Due to the heavy promotion of PSL by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), selectors and cricket analysts have been vigilant for the last three years, looking for budding domestic cricketers.

Arthur’s recent statement about taking PSL4 performance into account while selecting the squad for the upcoming series against Australia and the World Cup can serve as an added incentive for the youngsters to bring their A game!